As I’m currently playing Thracia for the first time, I find that the capture quotes of certain bosses to be really fascinating. Most of them are actually grateful if spared, which would be an interesting hack idea if you could recruit them in the vein of Archer’s FE6 and FE7 boss recruitment hacks. It paints most of them as sympathetic, moreso than most of the other games in the series. The tricky thing is that most bosses in Thracia have really good stats, so they tend to be absurd if they’re recruited in the chapters they fought in with the exception of my choice: Alphand.
Alphand is grateful for you releasing him if you capture him, which is interesting considering the other Loptyrian mages spite you for capturing them. My two main reasons for choosing him above all the other bosses are gameplay and worldbuilding.
Gameplay - He serves as a back up dark magic user if Salem isn’t recruited or dies. Considering that you never got a playable dark mage in Genealogy, Thracia giving you two helps differentiate it a lot. I personally like using tools normally inaccessible by the player and dark magic is one of them in the Jugdral world. All of his items would be left as is because you recruit him a few chapters before the finale and his stats don’t need to be edited for the same reasons. Having a 3-10 range poison tome would feel cathartic in the player’s hands, considering you can’t use poison weapons at any point. Also, you get an A rank staff user to help combat the last chapters of Thracia, where staff users are very handy to have around. He would have a support with Salem and Sara.
Lore/Worldbuilding - This is where Alphand really shines. Keep it mind, this is my headcanon, but I believe that Alphand would leave the cult after speaking with Salem and Sara. He sees this opportunity as a chance for redemption, dedicating the rest of his life to use his magical talents for good. His recruitment would provide Leif with an insight into the Loptyrian cult - How they recruit magicians, what Loptyr represents in their minds, and the location of the child abductees so they are rescued in the future. Of course, the rest of Leif’s army would object to this recruitment, but Leif would see the good in Alphand, reminding them of Salem’s recruitment into the Dandelion Thieves and Sara’s recruitment. Considering there isn’t support conversations in Thracia, this works instead.
I have a list of other bosses that I would spare including:
Rumei - He’s my second choice. Dude really wants to be a good dad to his kids, and I think him fighting to end the Loptyrian cult’s influence to save his children from future harm works. He would support Hicks and Dalsin, as they are all family men. Perhaps he would know about the Yied Desert Massacre and feel some guilt by association having been in the Thracian army.
Gomez - The most sympathetic boss in the game and most people’s choice. Gomez is the first point where Leif realizes that the reality of South Thracia is a tragic cycle. If he lived, he would try to find forgiveness from Dagdar and teach Leif what life in South Thracia really looks like. I like to think he would be a good uncle to Tanya in this timeline. Gameplay wise, he would be among the most broken units in the franchise if he was recruitable, no strings attached.
Paulus - Very much against Tarrah’s invasion, Paulus questions why King Blume is acting in this way. If captured, he says he plans to “take responsibility”, which could either mean suicide or return to Blume presumably executed for failing his mission. Leif would convince him that he could make it up to his soldiers and the people of Tarrah if he fought for the liberation army instead (this is a bit of a stretch I know). While he is simply a baron of the Grannvale Empire, my headcanon is that he’s from Friege and wishes for it to flourish like Lorenz with Grust. His ending could follow Arthur and Tine as a guardian over them, despite the fact that they don’t appear in the game. Gameplay wise, his stats are cracked and having automatic A ranks in every weapon type and staves makes him outclass like most of the cast. However, his recruitment would lead into…
Palman - Paulus’ brother (gotta give recolors a reason to exist other than gameplay) and a B route exclusive character. He is very much against the Loptyrian cult’s practices alongside Amalda. To recruit him, have Paulus talk to him. Paulus would convince him that even the actions of one person could spark a great change if they’re motivated as he was convinced by Leif’s words. With resolve, Palman plans to end the cult, even if he dies trying. In contrast to his brother, Palman would retire in his ending as it’s hinted in his capture quote that he goes home. He’ll serve as a contrast to Xavier, with better stats, a less painful recruitment, and having higher weapon ranks in swords and lances versus Xavier’s abundant skills and axe and bow weapon ranks.
Cohen - Saias deserves some happiness in his life, so his grandfather gets to live! A bulky magician with A rank staves, he actually isn’t super broken if he was to join the player. By this point, you already have some amazing staff users and mages. He just makes Saias’ ending much happier now that the high priest has a home to go back to after the war.
There are more bosses, but I wrote a lot already for this post.
